Doppelganger
by IWillBelieveIt
Summary: After the events of Sternum, Zoe began acting strange. Sometimes she'd act normal but other times she'd act like a completely different person. At first it's written off as stress, but then the team start to wonder. Could Zoe have a doppelganger?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my new story and this one is a little different from my others. (I swear, I say that at the start of all my stories). But either way, I hope you like it. Just so you've got the bsckground for the story, Zoe and Dan have been together since Sternum. Usually I don't like to do that, but this time I'm making an exception. **

Zoe woke to someone whispering her name in her ear as the heavy weight of another body pressed against her own. She roecognised it as a male body - their chest was too flat and the body was too lean to be female. Zoe recognised the cologne the guy was wearing and bit back a smile. Of course Dan would be the only one to have the bravery to come into her room in the morning and wake her up by laying on top of her.

"Dan." Zoe moaned, squeezing her eyes shut. "Go away. I'm tired."

"Zoe . . ." Dan whispered, his mouth against her earlobe as he talked. Zoe shivered but opened her eyes to find Dan's face inches from her own as a small smile played on his mouth. She paid no attention to it - although she wasn't immune to his charms, she knew how to make him believe that he didn't have an effect on her.

Zoe placed her hands on Dan's shoulders and pushed, trying to get him off her. "Dan, get off. You're heavy."

She didn't have to lie about that. He was, in fact, quite heavy. It wasn't that he was fat, he was quite fit - in all possible definitions of the word. He wasn't the same boy who hadn't quite grown into himself yet - he was much taller than she was and she noticed that he moved with a more prominent sense of purpose. He'd started wearing his hair shorter and in Zoe's opinion, it suited him better.

"Zoe . . ." Dan breathed, pressing a kiss to Zoe's neck.

"Dan." Zoe whispered. "Rose is just downstairs."

"We're not doing anything." Dan said, his mouth pressing against the spot were Zoe's neck met her jaw.

"Yeah, but we have school. You know, that place that you go to so you can learn?" Zoe asked.

'"Fine." Dan said. He started to get up, but then Zoe pulled him back down and climbed over him, smiling as she pressed her mouth against his. She felt Dan's mouth smile against her own as he placed his hands on her waist.

* * *

"And here comes Romeo and Juliet." Aneisha said, smiling as she watched the pair walk into the school.

"They're not shy or subtle about it." Tom said.

"Would you be?" Aneisha asked. "Tom, they've been pinning after each other for a year. I think Dan's the only thing that keeps her going half the time."

"Why would he be? She's not sick."

Aneisha sighed. "Mastermind, Tom. She's having a hard time dealing with it all."

Tom shrugged. "She looks fine to me."

Aneisha sighed. "Tom, my job is to pretend. Trust me, she's a lot worse than she's lettng on."

Tom sighed, but he didn't say anything as Zoe and Dan neared them. Zoe broke away from Dan and hugged Aneisha, who whispered in her ear, "It's okay to cry, Zoe."

Zoe pulled away and nodded, blinking away unshed tears. "I've got to go see Mr McNab about our assignment. I'll be right back."

Dan watched her as she walked off, his blue eyes worried.

"How is she?" Aneisha asked.

Dan sighed and sat on the table they were gathered around. "Not good."

"Ha!" Aneisha said, glancing at Tom.

"What?" Dan asked.

"Thomas here thinks that Zoe is just fine."

"She is so far from fine you wouldn't believe it." Dan said. "She is . . . She's trying to be strong about it, but it's hard. It's hard for her, but she's coping the only way she knows how. It's the same way she coped when she was at SKUL - one day at a time."

"But she has you." Aneisha said. Dan grunted and Aneisha raised her eyebrows. "What was _that_ for?"

"She won't talk to me." Dan said. "I wish that she would. But I guess that she's so used to not having anyone there when she needs someone that she just keeps it bottled up."

Aneisha sighed as she saw Zoe walk up, but something seemed . . . _off_ about her. There was a spring in her step that even on her best day, Zoe would never have had.

"That was quick." Dan said as Zoe slipped onto the table beside him. "Usually talking to McNab about assignments takes close to an hour."

"Son of a bitch was busy." Zoe replied, earning her three sets of raised eyebrows. Out of the four of them, she was the one that was least likely to have foul language.

Aneisha studied Zoe carefully, trying to figure out what was up with her. Normally, she would have written it off as Zoe still trying to deal with what she'd found out about herself, but she couldn't keep doing that. Zoe had been acting out of character over the past week or so, since they'd rescued her from Sternum. It had all of them worried.

"I've got to go talk to Frank." Zoe said, getting up.

Dan watched her go with a puzzled look on his face. As the door closed behind her, he turned back to Aneisha and Tom. "Okay, it can't just be me. Did anyone else find that strange?"

"Yeah." Aneisha said. "Something's up with her. She's been acting weird since Sternum."

Dan shrugged as the door opened and Zoe walked out. As she slid back into place beside Dan, Aneisha noticed that the little bounce in her step was gone.

"All good?" Dan asked, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

"Yeah." Zoe replied. "It's fine."


	2. Chapter 2

**Before I let you read the second chapter of **_**Doppelganger**_**, I just wantrd to let you guys know that I've just returned to school, so my updates are going to be reduced to just the weekends. Hopefully I'll be able to update on Friday night and then again on Sunday, but I can't make any promises. Anyway, on with the story.**

* * *

"I'm telling you, something's up with her, Frank." Aneisha said. She and Tom were in HQ, trying to convince Frank that their redheaded friend had gne completely insane. So far he wasn't buying it.

"Zoe's been through a lot, you two." Frank said. "She's just found out she's the clone of the Mastermind and she has over eighty twins. She needs time to deal with that."

"Yeah, but she's been acting weird." Tom said.

Frank sighed. "How is she acting weird?"

"She's been swearing and mouthing off to everyone." Aneisha replied.

"Yes, but how?" Frank asked. "Something specific would be nice."

"She actually called Melissa a raging bitch the other day." Aneisha replied.

"So? It's common knowledge that Zoe and Melissa hate each other." Frank said.

"Yeah, but Zoe's side of it is mostly glaring and rolling her eyes behind Melissa's back!" Aneisha protested.

Frank sighed. "Okay. I'll get Dan to talk to her about it."

"Why Dan?" Tom asked. "Why can't you?"

"Right now Dan seems to be the only one who can get through to her." Frank replied.

* * *

Zoe looked up at Dan, biting back a smile. Dan noticed that her eyes twinkled with mischief, something that confused him slightly. Lately there seemed to be something fragile about everything she did, as if she were seconds away from breaking. Since she wouldn't talk to him about it, all Dan could do was try and distract her from her own thoughts and make sure he was there when she did break.

But right then there was nothing breakable or fragile about her. Before Dan could question her about it, the bell rang, summoning the two of them to geography with Mr Flatley.

As Dan tuned out the headmaster as he rambled on about Japanese culture, he turned his pen in his fingers, occasionally tapping it against his desk. He could see the back of Zoe's head, a fountain of auburn flowing down her back. Pursing his lips, Dan thought back to a few days before. Melissa was being her normal annoying self, trying to flirt with Dan. Then Zoe had come up and asked through gritted teeth if the brunette could leave Dan alone. When Melissa had refused, an argument between the two girls had begun, which ended in Zoe calling Melissa a raging bitch, which earned her detention.

Breaking through his thoughts, Zoe turned and smiled at Dan over her shoulder. Dan smiled back at her, watching as she flushed and turned back to the front. She seemed okay now, but who new how long that would last? Her behaviour had been very sketchy lately, very unpredictable. It was almost like there was two versions of her walking around but they had completely contasting personalities.

* * *

After school, Dan decided to take the long way home. He needed time to think.

He couldn't understand what was up with Zoe. She had the right to be upset, but she ddin't seem to be. Half the time, Dan could see the she was barely holding it together. The otner half, he barely recognised her. Everything about her in those times seemed different - the way she looked at people, the way she walked, the way she talked. Thinking about it, in those moments, she reminded him of Katherine, a character in a TV show his sister liked to watch. He could never remember what the show was called, just that there were two characters that looked exactly the same but they had contrasting personalities. Katherine was selfish and sadistic. The other girl, Elena, was the opposite. She was caring and selfless, putting others before herself. Dan gathered that much from the little bits that he had seen.

Dan shook his head as he pushed open his front door, dumping his school bag at his feet and stripping off his school blazer. He walked into the living room and jumped over the back of the couch, landing next to his sister, who promptly slammed her foot into his leg. "Jesus Christ, Dan! Do you have to do that?"

"Not really, but it's fun." Dan replied. He reached into the bowl perched on the girl's lap and pulled out some popcorn, popping it into his mouth. The blonde girl shrieked, pulling it away from him and glaring.

"Care!" Dan moaned. "Let me have some. It's been a long day."

"No. You're a dick." Caroline replied. Dan grunted and got up. "Fine. I'll go get some chocolate. And I'm npt giving you any."

Caroline stuck her tongue out at him as he walked into the kitchen, pulling open the fridge. He found a Cherry Ripe sitting in the door and he grabbed it, shutting the door with his foot as he tore open the wrapper.

"So, how's your girlfriend?" Caroline asked, walking in and leaning on the other side of the counter. Dan sighed, leaning on the opposite side of the counter from his sister as he pulled the wrapper back from the chocolate and took off a bite.

"What?" Caroline asked. "Trouble in Paradise?"

Dan shook his head as he finished chewing and then swallowed. "No. It's not that. She's just been acting weird."

"In what way?"

"Almost like . . . She's got two different personalities. Sometimes she'll seem completely fine, but sometimes I can hardly believe that it's her."

"What do you think she's acting like that?" Caroline asked.

Dan shrugged. "I don't know. I guess she's just having a hard time with everything."

"So what happened again?"

"She found out that she's adopted." Dan said. It was the story he'd adopted the day he and Zoe got together, the day he'd spent at her house, holding her and kissing her in his feeble attempts to soothe her pain. He didn't like lying to Caroline, but it was the closest to the truth that he could give her.

Caroline pursed her lips and developed an accusing look in her eyes, but then it faded as she said, "She'll be okay, Daniel."

Dan simply muttered something in return, taking a bite of his chocolate. Caroline watched sadly, resisting the urge to hug him. Her and Dan had never had the most usual sibling relationship. The only fighting they'd ever done was the good-natured name-calling passed between them. There'd never been any rivalry between them and when they were younger, they'd both openly admitted on several occasions that they were considered the other their best friend.

But lately, something had changed. It started at the start of the school year, when Dan started being around less, like their parents. He came home from school later and there was something different about him - there was something _disiplined_ about him now and there was a wisdom in his eyes that hadn't been there before. Caroline put it down to this girlfriend of his - this Zoe that he was so crazy about - but in her heart, she knew exactly what was going on, she just refused to admit it. She may be blonde, bit she certainly wasn't stupid and her head wasn't in the clouds. She knew that no matter how strong love may be, it can't change someone so drastically in such a small space of time.

Caroline reached out for the chocolate in her brother's hands, but Dan pulled it away and bit back a smirk.

"You're not allowed." Dan said.

"You're not the boss of me." Caroline protested.

"I'm older. That means you have to do what I tell you." Dan said.

"Only by two minutes!" Caroline said.

Dan shrugged. "I'm still the older twin."

He finished off the chocolate and started to walk off as Caroline shouted, "Fuck you!" after him.

Dan laughed as he clambered up the stairs. "Love you too, Care!"

* * *

**Sorry about my language. Just a warning, this story's going to have slightly more cursing than my other ones have. I hope you liked this. Originally, Caroline was supposed to be Dan's younger sister, like Becky was in **_**Strength**_** and **_**Life**_**, but then I got the idea of having them as twins. I thought it might be a fun idea to play with. **


	3. Chapter 3

When Dan got to school the next day, he met with Aneisha and Tom.

"You have to talk to her." Aneisha said, crossing her arms over chest.

"What's she doing now?" Dan asked.

Tom gestured over his shoulder to where Zoe and Melissa were obviously having an argument. A crowd was gathering around the two girls which consisted of Roly and Byron and a lot of others.

"I'll sort it." Dan sighed, moving towards the group. Aneisha and Tom watched the blonde as he moved behind Zoe, wrapping his arms around her petite little waist and lifting her off her feet. Zoe protested and dug in her heels, but Dan ignored her feeble attempts to get him to let her stay and argue with the strong-willed brunette.

"Just leave it, Zoe." Dan told her as he pulled her to a halt outside the broom cupboard, sliding back the top part of the light switch and pressing his thumb against the biometric panel.

"She's not worth your time." Dan said as the door unlocked and he kicked it open, pulling Zoe inside. He pulled on the lever and stared straight ahead as he felt his heart leap into his throat as the lift dropped underneath him.

When the lift stopped and the doors opened, Zoe stormed out and then turned to face Dan, crossing her arms over her chest as he stepped out of the lift after her.

"Why are you treating me like a child?" Zoe asked.

"Maybe because you're acting like one." Dan replied. Zoe's jaw set and she glanced away, looking incredibly pissed off.

"Zoe." Dan said, stepping towards her and grabbing her chin so thst she was forced to look at him. As she took in his features, her eyes softened, the stiffness leaving her muscles. Dan released her, his eyes watching hers carefully. "Zo, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Zoe told him, stepping back.

"Don't give me that." Dan said. "Zoe, I know that you're not okay. You wouldn't be acting like this if you were. Zoe, please. _Talk to me_."

Zoe looked up into his worried face and sighed. "I know. It's just . . . I'm not used to having anyone to talk to."

Dan brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Talk to me."

"I'm just having a bit of a hard time with everything." Zoe admitted. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"Hey, I'm your boyfriend." Dan said, taking her face in his hands. "It's my job to worry about you."

Zoe flushed and smiled up at him as Dan ducked his head, pressing his mouth gently against hers. Zoe pushed up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Dan's neck as she ran her tongue across his bottom lip. Dimly, Dan heard the lift open and he inwardly groaned as he pulled away from Zoe, to tell Frank or Tom or Aneisha to go away. What he saw was the one thing that he never could have expected.

"Dan?" Zoe asked, stepping out of the lift. "What's going on?"

"Zoe?" Dan asked, glancing between the two - indentical girls. As he looked at the Zoe that he'd just kissed, he realised what had been missing from her expression in those moments when she hadn't seemed like herself - it was her innocence, her honesty. Zoe always looked at everyone from a place of complete honesty. Whoever this girl who looked exactly like Zoe was, there was absolutely nothing honest about her.

"You're not Zoe." Dan said, stepping back towards the real Zoe.

The girl who looked like Zoe but wasn't clapped slowly, sarcastically. "Well done. One point to blondie."

Zoe moved to stand beside Dan, her hand finding his. "Who are you?"

"I'm you." The girl said, smirking. "Well I'm part of you. The part that you don't want your beloved to know exists."

Zoe glanced up at Dan, whose hand slipped out of hers as he surged forward, his hand findimg the junction of the girl's neck and her shoulder, applying pressure to just the right spot so that she passed out. Behind him, Zoe swayed on her feet as the girl that looked like her collapsed at Dan's feet. Shaking his head, Dan turned to Zoe. She looked like she might be about to pass out herself.

"Are you okay, Zo?" Dan asked.

Zoe nodded, offering him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm fine, Dan. Just a bit shocked, that's all."

"I am so sorry." Dan told her. "If I had known that it wasn't you . . . I never would have kissed her, I swear."

"I know." Zoe said, pushing up on her toes and wrapping her arms around Dan's neck. "I know you're not like that, Dan."

"Thank you." Dan murmured, pressing his face into her hair as he tightened his arms around her waist. Zoe sighed, breathing in the smell of whatever cologne it was that he wore.

Finally, Zoe detangled herself from Dan and moved towards the version of herself lying unconscious on the floor. She knelt down beside the girl, her eyes surveying the girl's appearance, trying to find a flaw in the recreation of her own body. She couldn't find any.

"Who is she?" Dan asked, kneeling down beside Zoe. "Is she another Mastermind Clone?"

Zoe shook her head. "She wouldn't look like me then. She'd just look like my sister." Even as she spoke, Zoe was reaching for the girl's right arm and pushing up the sleeve of her blue hoodie. There, in the very same spot as Zoe, a combination of numbers and letter were stamped into her skin in a glowing yellow colour.

V.9.5.Z.O.E.6.

Zoe looked at Dan, whose eyes flickered between the girl's arm and Zoe's face. Zoe dropped the girl's arm suddenly.

"Zoe . . . " Dan started.

"She's me." Zoe breathed, tears building in her eyes. "She's me."

Dan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer, tucking her head under his chin. Zoe choked on a sob and rested her head against Dan's shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut. Dan's hand rubbed up and down her back and she eventually calmed down, taking a deep breath.

"Okay." Zoe said. "We should get Frank and Aneisha and Tom down here. Then we can figure out what to do next."

Dan nodded and pulled his pencil out of his pocket, holding it to his ear. Zoe tuned out as Dan spoke, staring at the other version of herself.

"They're on their way." Dan said as he shoved his pencil bac into his pocket. Ze didn't answer - she just continued to stare at the girl. Dan sighed and rubbed her shoulder, but he didn't say anything. He couldn't think of anything that might make her feel any better.


	4. Chapter 4

When Tom, Aneisha and Frank walked into HQ, they expected to see Dan and Zoe sitting at the table with some massive announcement that had something to do with their relationship. What they didn't expect was to see Dan and Zoe huddled together on the floor, with someone lying on the floor in front of them.

Dan threw a glance over his shoulder at the others as they walked out of the elevator. Aneisha noticed that his blue eyes were troubled as he stood, pulling Zoe with him. Zoe hid her face in Dan's neck and wrapped her arms around his waist. She didn't to hear the others' reactions.

Aneisha gasped as she saw Zoe lying on the floor, obviously unconscious. Brown eyes flickered from the Zoe on the floor to the one wrapped in Dan's arms, completely confused.

"What. The. Hell?" Aneisha asked.

"I don't even know." Dan said, gesturing to the Zoe on the floor. "She said something about being 'the side of Zoe that her beloved doesn't want her to see.' What the hell does that mean?"

Frank's eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. "Tom, grab a spypod and scan both of them. I want to see if they're actually the same person."

Tom did as Frank asked - he grabbed the nearest spypod and knelt down beside the unconscious Zoe and scanned her with the spypod. Then he moved towards the Zoe who was still wrapped up in Dan's arms. Dan touched her shoudler and she turned, watching Tom through the spypod screen as he scanned her.

Then Tom walked over to the computer and started typing away on it. Aneisha moved towards the Zoe lying on the floor. Cautiously, she touched the girl's temple. It was eerie how alike the two girls looked, as if they were doppelgangers.

"No way." Tom said finally, stepping away from the computer and covering his mouth with his hands. Frank glanced at the screen and ran his hands through his hair, sighing.

"Frank? What's wrong?" Dan asked, his arm wrapped loosely around Zoe's waist.

"Fifteen years ago, KORPS were attempting to clone people, but not in the way that Zoe's a clone of Mastermind." Frank explained. "Everyone sort of has . . . Two sides to their personality - a good side and a dark side. This cloning that KORPS were trying to develop was basically trying to get the darkest side of someone's personality to mainfest."

"So you're saying that she's Zoe's dark side?" Dan asked.

Frank nodded and Zoe drew in a sharp breath.

"What happened to them? The dark side clones?" Aneisha asked.

Frank shrugged. "I honestly don't know."

"But how could this have happened?" Dan asked. "The machine at Sternum was supposed to put the Mastermind into Zoe's brain, not get her evil side to rear its ugly head."

"That machine must have had some of the same technology." Tom said.

Dan started to reply, but then Zoe ran out, brushing tears out of her eyes as she ran. Dan stared after her for a moment before he moved after her, his blue eyes flashing as the lift doors closed on him.

Zoe ran out of the school and down the street, her feet pounding against the pavement loudly. When she'd long since lost count of how many streets she'd gone down, she heard footsteps behind her. These were heavier, obviously a male's.

Zoe stopped and whirled, kicking whoever was following her in the stomach. She watched as a boy about her age with blonde hair fell backwards onto the pavement with a grunt. Zoe was about to run again, but then she took in the boy's familiar features.

High cheekbones. Blue eyes. Soft mouth.

Dan.

Zoe hadn't even realised that she'd said his name until he said her's, the name rolling easily off his tongue. Zoe's muscles relaxed and she reached down, intending to help him up. Instead of pulling himself to his feet when his hand grasped her's, Dan used Zoe's slim form against her, pulling her down and wrapping his arms around her as she fell into him.

Zoe wrapped her arms around Dan's neck and rested her head against his shoulder, taking slow, deep breaths. She'd fallen in such a way that she was sitting on Dan's legs, her knees on both sides of his hips. Thinking of how close they were flicked a switch somewhere in Zoe.

_Here we go_, Dan thought as sobs started to make Zoe's body shake against him. He didn't say anything - he just held her and pressed his face into her hair, just letting her cry.

When she was done, Zoe pulled back a little, pushing hair and tears out of her eyes. Dan's eyes - beautiful and blue and worried - moved to meet her gaze as he rested his hand on her cheek. Zoe closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, sighing in content.

"Do you want to come somewhere with me?" Dan asked softly.

"Dan . . ." Zoe sighed. Then her eyes opened. "We have to get back to school."

"Let's just ditch." Dan said. "I don't think I'd be able to concentrate, knowing . . . Let's just ditch. You deserve some fun."

Zoe felt a smile tug at her mouth and she looked down as she flushed. When she lifted her head, she pressed her mouth against his, her hand cradling the side of his face. Dan noticed immediately that there was a difference between the way Zoe kissed and the way her darker counterpart - he decided on V95 - kissed. When he'd kissed V95, there'd been something off about it. Soemthing that said that she didn't care for him all that much. With Zoe, he had no doubt that she cared for him. They hadn't said 'I love you' yet, so Dan wasn't going to say that her feelings towards him were to that extend, but he knew that whatever it was that he felt for her, it was strong. He could feel that as he focused on the way her mouth moved against his, the way she held him.

"Okay. Where are we going?" Zoe asked when they pulled apart, a tiny smile playing at her mouth.

* * *

Caroline sighed in frustration, sitting down on the couch. Dan had promised to take her to see Frozen, but the movie had started haf an hour ago. Determination filled Caroline's whole being as she got up from the couch and started walking up the stairs. She was sick of her brother not being around and not knowing why. Her dear Mum and Dad weren't home, as usual, so she wouldn't get in trouble for 'invading Dan's privacy.'

Caroline stopped in front of Dan's bedroom door and pulled on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. Damn. He'd locked it.

Sighing, Caroline plucked a bobby pin out of her hair and started to pick the lock, until the door sprung open, revealing the cluttered mess of a teenage boy's room. Caroline started to search, first going through the items on Dan's desk, then the drawers of his bedside table and his wardrobe, and found nothing.

She was about to walk out, but then Caroline noticed the box sticking out slightly from under Dan's bed. Getting down on her hands and knees, Caroline yanked the box out and started to sort through it. It seemed to be filled with old, broken devices that seemed to have been made by aliens. One looked like it still might work. Caroline pulled it out and started inspecting it curiously. It was oval shaped and black, with a green line running horizontally across the front. It has 'SPYPOD' and 'V6' written on it in green and appeared to be two seperate pieces. When Caroline pulled them apart, she found that a glass screen connected the two peices.

Caroline looked up when she heard the front door unlocking, her eyes focusing on the alarm clock on Dan's bedside table. It was too early for her Mum and Dad, so it had to be Dan.

The device clutched firmly in her right hand, Caroline marched down the stairs to meet Dan at the front door. The boy's mouth was twisted into the type of smile that he only wore when he'd been with Zoe, but that smile vanished when he turned to Caroline and saw her holding up the device as she asked, "What the hell is this?"

Dan's lips parted, but he didn't say anything.

"You have got some serious explaining to do."


	5. Chapter 5

Dan led Zoe down so many streets that the redhead lost count, until Dan stopped at the side of a building. They were standing underneath the fire escape and as Zoe watched, Dan leaped up into the air and pulled down the ladder. The rickety, rusted ladder fell down in front of him and Dan started to climb, moving precision and ease on the old ladder while Zoe eyed it nervously. "Are you sure it won't, you know, collapse?"

"You'll be fine." Dan said. Zoe took a deep breath before she started to climb up after him. Slowly, they climbed up the fire excape until they found themselves on the roof of the building.

"So what are we doing up here?" Zoe asked.

"Watching the sun set." Dan replied, sitting down.

"There's still hours until the sun sets, though." Zoe said.

"Yeah, I know." Dan said. "How're you dealing with everything, Zo? And don't you dare tell me you're fine."

"Let's see." Zoe said. "First I find out that I'm the clone of the Mastermind and he wants to put himself into my head and I have eighty sisters. And now, my evil side has manifested and has been toying with everyone all week."

Zoe could feel tears pricking at her eyes again and she blinked them away. She would not cry again. Not in front of him.

Dan was suddenly there, pulling her into his arms. Zoe loved the way she felt when he held her - he made her feel safe, as if there was nothing in the world that coud get to her as long as she was with him.

"We'll get through this." Dan said softly. "We'll find a way to put V95 back where she belongs and then everything will be fine again."

Zoe pulled back, looking up at him with sad green eyes. "How can you know that, Dan? How could anyone _possibly_ know that?"

Dan took Zoe's face in his hands, intense blue eyes boring into hers. "I know that because I love you, Zoe."

Zoe stared at him for a moment before she said, "I love you, too, Dan."

Dan smiled as Zoe reached up to kiss his smiling mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck as Dan placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, twisting his head to the side so he could kiss her better.

When they pulled apart, they both collapsed on the floor - Zoe's head on Dan's shoulder with his head resting against her's. Their fingers were intertwined and Dan kept glancing dwn at them, wondering why it had taken so long for him to tell her that he loved her. In the end, he figured it was his own stubbornness.

Zoe, for now at least, was happy. She'd never felt love like this before - the kind of love that came from loving someone else so completely and unconditionally that your own needs didn't matter. They weren't even particularlly doing anything, they were just sitting there, but Zoe could feel the love she felt for him vibrating through her entire being.

When the sun had set and enveloped the world into darkness until sunrise, Dan took Zoe home. Then, as he walked home, he coukdn't keep the giddy smile off his face. He even wore as he walked into the house, but it disappeared as soon as he saw Caroline holding his spypod.

"You have got some serious explaining to do."

"You know." Dan said.

"No, I don't." Caroline said. Dan noticed that her voice shook and her blue eyes were slightly wider than usual.

"No, you do. You just won't admit it to yourself." Dan said. "Care, you know exactly what that is. You may be blonde, but you're not stupid."

Caroline stared at the device in her hands. Then she yelped and threw it at him. Dan easily caught it, his eyes watching his twin carefully.

"You're a spy?"

Dan nodded. "I can't tell you who for or who we fight or who else that you know is one, but yes, I'm a spy."

"Oh my God." Caroline said.

"Care?" Dan said. He stepped forward and touched his sister's arm.

"That's why . . ." Caroline started. "That's why you've been away so much. You've been working. So you're prioritising work over me, just like Mum and Dad."

Dan was horrified. "No, no, no, Care, never. Being a spy is not the kind of job you can just not show up for. It's a lot bigger than you - it's the whole country."

"Then why did you take it?" Caroline asked.

Dan gave her a pointed look. "You're sixteen years old and you get given the opportunity to work as a spy. Would you say no?"

Caroline looked away, guilty for having been so selfish. "No."

"Exactly." Dan said. "Now I have to go check how much of a mess you've made in my room."

Caroline shrugged and waved him off, moving back to the couch. Questions that would never be anwsered kept swirling in her head. How often did Dan risk his life for the world? Was Zoe a spy too? What about Tom, Dan's best friend?

Immrdiately, Caroline shook off the possiblity that Tom would be a spy. That kid was so stuck into his computers that you had to slap him to get him to look at you when you talked to him.

Caroline felt Dan lean on the back of the couch and she growled in annoyance, reaching up to hit him. Dan easily dodged, grinning.

"Oh, and Care, if you see Zoe, but there's something off about her, that's because it's not Zoe. There's this girl who looks like Zoe but she seems to be quite diabolical."

"Diabolical?"

"It's complicated." Dan said. He jumped over the back of the couch to sit beside her, grabbing the TV remote and turning it on. Immediately, an image of a man with dark hair with blood on his mouth filled the screen. Dan scoffed and changed the channel.

"Hey! I want to watch that!" Caroline protested.

Dan stood up on the couch and held the remote high above his head. Caroline quickly scrambled to her feet, but she, unfortunately, hadn't gotten the gene that made the Morgan men so damn tall.

Caroline jumped up to grab it just as a tall man walked in and boomed, "DANIEL AND CAROLINE MORGAN! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO NOT STAND ON THE COUCH!"

Immediately, Dan and Caroline fell into sitting position, both looking at their father. Caroline looked ready to start crying, but Dan just watched him walk off with a taut jaw. Turning back to the TV, Dan passed the remote back to Caroline and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it with a quick swipe of his fingers, clicking onto his messages and pulling up the conversation that showed all the messages between him and Zoe. There was something calming about talking to her and he was sure that now would be no different.


	6. Chapter 6

When Dan and Zoe got to school the next day, they went straight down to HQ to check on Zoe's counterpart - whom they'd both dubbed V95. It seemed fitting. V95 was the name she'd been given by KORPS and Zoe was the name she'd been given when she'd been found by M.I.9, when she'd been offered another way of life than causing people misery.

V95 was the name Zoe gave to the ugliest part of herself.

Zoe was the name that Dan knew his beloved by.

When they got down to HQ, V95 was gone.

"She's here." Zoe said.

"How do you know?" Dan asked, squeezing her fingers.

"I don't know. I just do." Zoe replied, glancing over at him. Then she moved off to go find her while Dan looked around, every sense straining to find V95. He wasn't sure how he knew because she hadn't really done anything worth worying about yet, but Dan knew that they needed to put this girl back into Zoe's head. She's successfully imitated Zoe for at least a week. Who knew what else she could do?

"Well aren't you a pretty thing?"

Dan whirled, blue eyes glaring at the girl who looked like Zoe in front of him. "V95." He said.

V95 smiled, but it wasn't the sweet smile that graced Zoe's mouth. It was cruel and sarcastic and made Dan's skin crawl as she touched his chest with one finger and then started to walk around him in a circle, dragging her finger after her. Dan forced himself to saty still as V95's finger dragged horizontally across his chest, then his arm and then his back. As she walked, V95's eyes surveyed Dan, lingering a little longer than necessary on his backside. When she finally appeared in front of him again, her mouth was quirked into a smirk. "You're definitely fit, aren't you, Daniel?"

Dan didn't reply, he just watched her with distrust growing in his eyes. V95 sighed and kicked Dan in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. Dan was tall, but V95 had the strength that Zoe had, the strength that came from being taught to fight as long as she could walk.

"Dan!" Zoe cried, running towards the sound of his body colliding with the floor. She froze when she saw V95 kneeling over him, her mouth twisted cruelly as she spoke in a quick, hushed voice to him. Dan's eyes flickered to Zoe just before she melted back into the shadows. Zoe crept up behind V95 and struck her in the back, whimpering and backing away as pain exploded in her own back. V95 fell to the side as Zoe's hand found the sore spot. Dan wasted no time in getting up and grabbing V95 and slamming her against the wall as Tom, Aneisha and Frank walked in. Dan's closed his fingers around V95's throat, immediately loathing the smile that found her mouth.

Behind him, Dan heard choking, but he paid no attention to it as he leaned in so he was right in V95's face.

"Dan!" Aneisha shouted.

"Dan, they're the same person!" Tom cried.

Dan clenched his teeth as it became harder to block out his friends' voices, tightening his hold on V95's throat. Still, she showed no sign of having any difficulty breathing. THe choking sounds behind Dan became louder.

"Dan!" Tom shouted. "Look at Zoe and _think_ about what you're doing!_ They're the same person!"_

Hearing Zoe's name ripped Dan out of the trance he was in. He released V95, sending her crashing to the floor as he turned to look at Zoe. She was breathing heavily and Dan could see the beginnings of bruises developing at her throat.

Bruises that matched the exact shape of his fingers.

Dan looked between Zoe and V95. Zoe was coughing, while V95 just grinned up at him.

"V95's Zoe's bad side." Tom said quietly. "They're linked. What happens to one, happens to both."

"No." Dan said, shaking his head. "No, because I knocked V95 _out_ yesterday and Zoe was fine."

"That's not entirely true." Zoe said.

Dan's eyes met Zoe's - she was stunned by the amount and intensity of the guilt she saw swimming in their blue depths.

"When you knocked her out, I got this really bad headache." Zoe said. "I thought it was just a coincidence. I should know by now that there's no such thing as a real coincidence."

"Zoe and V95 were linked then, but it wasn't as strong." Tom explained. "So yesterday, V95 got knocked out and Zoe felt numbed effects of the blow. Just then, Zoe felt exactly what was happening to V95."

"So we can't knock her out. So how to do we stop her from causing trouble?"

"Hello?" V95 shouted. "I am here, you know!"

_"Unfortunately!"_ Dan yelled back at her.

V95 glared up at him, but Dan just glared back.

"We make sure someone's down here at all times." Frank said.

Dan nodded and glared down at V95, who smirked up at him.

"Just because I can't hurt you, it doesn't mean I can't make you suffer, bitch." Dan told her.

* * *

After the others left, it was just Dan and Zoe alone in HQ with a very restless V95. Dan had handcuffed her hands behind her back and then he'd used another set of handcuffs to chain her to the desk. She wasn't going anywhere soon.

Now, Dan was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. Zoe looked away from where she was studying the resemblence between herself from V95, to the boy who was so obviously drowning in his own guilt.

Zoe sighed and pulled up a chair beside him, placing a hand on his arm. Slowly, Dan lowered his hands so that he could her. There was a faint bruise on her throat, but it was nothing that her school uniform wouldn't hide. But it filled Dan with guilt, knowing that he'd put it there. That he'd hurt her.

"Dan, it's not your fault." Zoe said softly. "You couldn't have known and I'm alright, aren't I?"

"No thanks to me." Dan muttered.

"You're not being fair to yourself." Zoe said. "Dan, there was no way you could have known that we're linked."

V95 started to say something, but Zoe got up and slapped her across the face, ignoring her own stinging cheek. "Shut_ up_, you. You've done enough."

Then she walked back to Dan, her fingers finding his and squeezing. "It's not your fault, Dan. No-one got hurt."

"i don't know what I'd do if I ever hurt you." Dan breathed, his eyes flickering up to meet hers. Zoe smiled, resting her hand on his cheek. "I know."

Dan leaned in and pressed his mouth softly against Zoe's. Zoe smiled into the kiss as she moved her mouth against his. Somehow, it all of a sudden didn't matter that the worst part of Zoe had manifested. It didn't matter that they couldn't kill her. All that mattered was each other and the love they shared. Everything else faded away into nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

Soon after, Frank came down to relieve Dan and Zoe of their watch of V95. Zoe watched V95 as the lift doors closed on her, seperating her from her other self, but not before she caught V95's sneer.

"She freaks me out so damn much." Dan breathed as he held the brrom cupboard door open for Zoe. Zoe's brow furrowed as the walked down the corridor, their fingers intertwined. "How does she freak you out?"

Dan cast a glance over at her and lowered his voice. "I was choking her, Zo. And all she could do was grin about it. If that's not something worthy of keeping you up at night, I don't know what is."

"Do I need to remind you?" Zoe asked.

Dan shook his head. "You don't, Zoe. The very idea that I might lose you is enough to keep me up at night."

Zoe smiled up at him. Suddenly V95 seemed a thousand years away as she told him, "I love you too."

Dan squeezed her fingers and pushed the door open for Zoe. "It's just . . . There's something unnerving about choking someone, but all they do is grin in your face. It's almost like . . . She doesn't have a weakness."

"Of course she has a weakness." Zoe told him as they walked over to one of the many benches in the courtyard, sliding onto the top of it so they were sitting side by side. "Everyone has a weakness."

Dan glanced across at her. "You don't."

Zoe flushed. "Of course I do, Dan. I have two. The first one's that I trust people too easily - I trusted Steinberg and look where that got me. I was captured and almost turned into an evil old man."

"No, that's Steinberg, remember?" Dan said, earning him a smile from her. He realised that he missed it - he hadn't seen nearly enough of it lately.

Dan ducked his head and kissed Zoe's knuckles before lifting his head and fixing his intense blue eyes on her. "So what's the other reason? What's Zoe London's Achilles Heel?"

Zoe's eyes sparkled. "I'm actually not that surprised that you know that story."

"Hey, no changing the subject. We're talking about you, not my knowledge of Roman Mythology." Dan said. "Come on, Zo. Just tell me."

"You." Zoe said, her eyes darting back and forth between his. Dan stared at her before he put his free hand on her cheek, smiling gently when Zoe closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

The spell was broken when they both heard someone tripping - both looked up to see Melissa's retreating back, her chestnut-brown hair swaying in time with her hips. Normally, Zoe might have gone after her and tried to make peace with the girl who wanted her boyfriend. On that particular day, however, Zoe felt too drained - physically and mentally - to bother. So she placed her head on Dan's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as his other hand squeezed her fingers again. As he pressed a kiss to her hair, Zoe looked down at their intertwined fingers. It was easy to tell whose was whose - Dan's fingers were tanned and colloused, both results of spending hours upon hours flinging himself over fences, benches, basically anything in his way. Her own were pale - it was only recently that she'd actually had the privelliage of actually being outside. Apparently, she was fair-skinned, which meant she couldn't really ever have beatuiful sun-browned skin like Dan's.

* * *

During the afternoon's lessons, Zoe found it increasingly hard to concentrate. She couldn't focus on anything other than the fact that that there was a manifested part of her under the school that just laughed when you tried to choke her.

About halfway through McNab's explaination on how Adolf Hitler's actions sparked the Second World War, Zoe saw Aneisha and Tom's pencils flash. Immediately, Aneisha's hand shot up.

"Yes, Miss Jones?" Mr McNab asked, irritated.

"Tom and I have to go help Mr London. Work experience." Aneisha explained, putting her most hopeful smile. McNab looked surprised, but he waved them both off. Zoe, confused, looked over her shoulder at Dan.

"V95." Dan mouthed. Zoe nodded and then turned back to the front as McNab started showing a video of Adolf Hitler speaking to the masses.

* * *

When Zoe and Dan left the school, both were subdued. Zoe couldn't get V95 out of her head - her other self had practically ignored her, directing all of her attention to Dan. Why had she done that?

"You okay?" Dan asked.

"I, uh . . . Yeah. I just can't figure it out - V95 didn't pay any attention to me. She was too interested in staring at your backside." Zoe replied.

"Maybe it's got something to do with how you feel about me." Dan suggested.

Zoe shrugged, but she didn't look convinced. Dan slid his hand into her's and she looked up at him. Dan stopped walking and pulled Zoe to him, closing his eyes and ducking his head so his mouth met Zoe's. Zoe pushed up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close as her lips anwsered to his kiss and Dan wrapped his arms around her waist. When they came up for air, Dan pressed his forehead against Zoe's, watching her closed eyelids. When Zoe opened her eyes, moss green meeting sky blue, Dan cupped Zoe's cheek in one hand, his fingers resting on her cheekbone.

"We'll be okay, Zo." He whispered. "We'll get through this. We'll get rid of V95 and then you'll be happy again. I promise you that."

Zoe wanted to believe him, but she couldn't help thinking that he was making a promise he couldn't keep.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Dan woke up to find a slim, female body curled up against him. Hiss eyes still closed, Dan smiled and wrapped his arms around Zoe, burying his face in her hair. She seemed to have changed her shampoo, but Dan didn't mind. He wracked his brain, trying to remember if Zoe had been with him when he fell asleep. As he realised that she hadn't, Zoe's hands, which had been resting on his neck, were dragged slowly down his neck and collarbone, her fingernails scraping across his skin. It was that action, combined with the knowledge that Zoe hadn't been there when he fell asleep, that set off alarm bells in Dan's head.

Dan moved, rolling his body to the side amd pulling his legs up as he moved over Zoe, so that when they stopped moving, he was sitting on the bed with Zoe trapped beneath him.

Green eyes twinkled with mischief.

It was V95.

"You know you're really sexy when you're all tired and your hair's messed up." She said. "But I bet you'll be even more sexy when I make you hate me. And trust me, you will."

Dan gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to punch her. Usually, the problems he faced on a day-to-day basis could easily be fixed when you hit it. This one was going to need a little more brains and a lot more patience than that.

Sighing, Dan pushed V95 into the bed and reached across, rummaging through his drawers until he produced some rope. Thanking whatever impulse it was that had made him decide to keep the stuff in there, he quickly tied V95's hands to the headboard. Then he climbed off her, worriedly glancing at the ropes, wondering how much Zoe would feel.

Dan was just about to call Frank when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. Thinking it was Caroline, Dan sighed and opened the door, surprised to see Zoe standing there. Without even thinking about it, Dan glanced down at Zoe's wrists. He felt nothing but horror when he saw a ring of a blood had seeped into the sleeves of her jacket and he turned, seeing V95 trying to squirm her way out of the bonds. Zoe looked past him and Dan glanced down at her, surprised when he saw an amused smile on her mouth.

"And why do you find this funny?" Dan asked.

Zoe bit her lip. "Sorry. It's just . . . If I had ever imagined to walk into your room and some girl being tied to your bed, I would've thought it would be a blonde with a DD bra size. Instead I get an evil version of me."

"Well," Dan replied, "she's still technically you. So technically it's not cheating."

* * *

Later that day, Dan and Zoe had managed to get V95 back into HQ, after bandaging Zoe's wrists. They were going to have a hard time coming up with a cover story, but neither of them were bothered much at that point. Dan was too concerned about the fact that V95 had managed to sneak into his house and no doubt knew about Caroline. Dan could feel the usual protectiveness that came whenever either Zoe or Caroline were threatened in any way – in this case it was both of them. Dan wondered how far V95 was willing to go, how many people she was willing to hurt. He knew already that V95 couldn't hurt Zoe physically, because of their link. But she shared no such link with Dan and if V95 really was the Dark Side of Zoe's personality, she knew everything about Zoe, so she knew that the easiest way to get to Zoe was through him.

Zoe, however, was trying to figure out why V95 seemed to be so interested in Dan. She couldn't help the guilt that was weighing down on her chest, making it difficult to breathe – although she hadn't done anything yet, V95 was going to endanger someone she cared about and judging by the dread in her heart, she already knew that it was going to be Dan. It was always Dan – he was the one who always got dragged into her problems, who saved her whenever she needed saving. And he'd never once complained, Zoe realized with a start. She'd lost count a long time ago of how many times he'd rescued her from all the trouble her quickness to trust people had gotten her into, but he'd never complained about it once.

Dan pressed his lips together as he watched V95, who simply smirked at him.

"Here." Tom said, putting a small orange cylinder on the table. Dan picked it up and shook it, listening to the pills inside rattle against the sides.

"Drugs?"

Tom nodded. "Knock-out pills for V95. I've made them so that they'll render V95 unconscious but leave Zoe fully alert."

Dan glared over at V95, who suddenly looked scared. It was an unnerving expression to see her wear, because it made her look too much like Zoe and that made it ten times as hard to hate her. Dan swallowed and looked down, feeling long-fingered hands grip his own. He looked up at Zoe, seeing her sympathetic smile and barely contained tears. He realized that not knowing what V95 wanted, or why she seemed to be obsessed with Dan, or how to get rid of her, was tearing her apart.

Zoe took a deep breath and looked over at Tom. "Have you figured out how to get rid of her?"

Tom sighed, massaging his temple. Immediately, dread started to creep into Dan's heart, making his chest feel heavy, as if it were made of lead.

"Yes. No. Kind of." Tom said, his dark eyes full of regret and apologies.

"Just out with it, Tom." Dan said. He already knew it was bad – that was why Tom was stalling, but that was old news. He'd known from the start that getting rid of V95 was going to be no easy task. But what he wanted to know was how hard was it going to be?

Tom took a deep breath. "For V95 to . . . return to Zoe's body, Zoe has to have a brush with death."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hahaha! I know, I know. I feel REALLY evil for what I did to you guys at the end of the last chapter of this AND Thirst, but I really couldn't help myself. I hope that this explains a little bit more about how V95 even EXISTS and if it doesn't, please don't be afraid to ask me through PM or review and I'll try and answer it in the story, I promise! That goes for any of my stories. I get more upset when I find out that people haven't been understanding the story than when people actually tell me they're not getting it. Okay?**

* * *

"What do you mean, a brush with death?" Dan asked.

"Exactly that." Tom replied. "Zoe has to come close to death. V95 can't exist without Zoe having a brush with death in the first place, so she has to have another one to undo what was done at Sternum."

"They tried to put Mastermind in her. They didn't even try to kill her." Aneisha said.

"Not in the way you're thinking of." Tom said. "In a way, they did try to kill her – they tried to kill off her consciousness. Part of the process of putting Mastermind into Zoe was first erasing Zoe's consciousness so that for a few seconds, she would just be a body."

"So like, the lights are on but no-one's home?" Frank asked.

"Exactly." Tom said. Dan was starting to feel sick. The idea that Zoe's heart would pump blood through her veins and there would air in her lungs, but there'd be no life in her green eyes, made his stomach lurch. It was the most cruel and evil thing he could think of – erasing someone's consciousness so that you could walk around in their body. He couldn't imagine being so deranged and insane that you'd clone yourself, purely for that purpose.

In a way, though, Mastermind's twisted plan had turned into a blessing because if he hadn't decided that he wanted to have a child created for the single purpose of having his mind put into theirs, the beautiful girl beside him would never have come into existence.

As if she knew what direction his train of thought was headed, Zoe pulled her chair over so she was sitting right beside Dan, her fingers tightening around his.

"So I have to . . . nearly die to get rid of her?"

V95 started to say something, but Dan slammed his free hand down onto the tabletop and she immediately shut up. She may be evil by nature, but she still had managed to keep Zoe's intelligence intact.

"Could KORPS trying to put Mastermind into her again work?" Frank asked.

Tom bit his lip and shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "I honestly don't know. I really wish I did."

Zoe nodded, giving him a small smile. "I know, Tom."

Without a single word, Dan suddenly got up and walked out. Zoe watched him leave, taking in his stricken blue eyes before the doors closed on him. Somehow, she knew he was having a worse time with this than she was.

Without even telling the others where she was going, she got up and walked out, barely noticing Tom, Aneisha and Frank's worried faces as the doors closed on her. The only face she could properly see was V95's amused one from her spot on the floor. Zoe wondered how V95's face could be such a perfect replica of her own, but her expression could be so alien that it made her own face look completely and horribly foreign?

* * *

Luckily for Zoe, Dan wasn't one to run. Zoe found him sitting against the building, his knees drawn up to his chest with his arms resting on them. His head was bent and he seemed to be staring at the ground.

"Good thing you don't pull a runner like me. I'd never be able to catch up to you." Zoe said, sitting down beside him. Dan lifted his head a little and glanced over at Zoe, but the corner of his mouth didn't curl up slightly like she'd been hoping.

"Dan." Zoe said. "I only have to come close to death. I don't have to actually die."

"Yeah, but you might." Dan said. "Zoe, it's a _brush with death."_

"Dan, it'll be okay." Zoe told him. "I could do it at an MI9 hospital . . . I'd stab myself and then bleed nearly to the point of death and then the doctors would heal me."

"You can't actually be serious." Dan said. Noticing her serious expression, he internally groaned. "You're serious."

"Dead serious." Zoe said.

"Don't say that." Dan said, earning him a smile from Zoe. "Zo, this isn't funny! You are talking about maybe, possibly, dying. What if something goes wrong?"

"It won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I don't know. I just am." Zoe said. Dan sighed and closed his eyes, tipping his head back so the back of his head rested against the bricks of the school building.

"I wish there was another way, Dan." Zoe said gently. Without opening his eyes, Dan nodded. "I know you do, Zo."

Zoe didn't say anything, she just sat beside him in silence until Dan straightened up, his eyes opening as he mumbled, "I can't believe I'm actually thinking about this."

"What?" Zoe asked.

Dan turned so he was facing her. "KORPS still want to put the Mastermind in you, right?"

"Right. . ." Zoe said uncertainly, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Well what if we could rig it so KORPS hook you up to the machine and then when V95's gone we disconnect you from the machine." Dan said. "I can't believe I'm _actually _considering this."

"It's not a bad idea." Zoe told him. "We need to go back and talk to Frank. Come on."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, but then Dan pulled her closer and crushed his mouth against hers. Zoe gasped, but she put her hands on Dan's waist to steady herself as Dan cupped her face in both hands. Usually Zoe hated it when people were taller than her – it made her feel small and fragile, as if she needed protecting. When she was with Dan, it was a different story. She loved the way he made her feel small because he didn't make her feel fragile. He made her feel strong, as if she could do anything as long as she had him.

When they came up for air, Dan rested his forehead against Zoe's, pushing her hair back from her face. He watched as Zoe opened her eyes, green orbs staring into his ocean-blue depths, nearly drowning in them.

"Zoe." Dan said softly. "Don't do anything until we've got a plan. I'd rather go my whole life having to put up with her obsession with me than lose you."

Zoe nodded.

"Promise me, Zo. Promise me you won't do anything stupid." Dan said, his blue eyes desperate.

Zoe pressed her lips softly against his. "I promise, Dan."


	10. Chapter 10

When Dan and Zoe walked back into HQ, Aneisha was kneeling down beside V95, holding the container of knock-out pills.

"I'm not swallowing those." V95 said, smirking at Aneisha. Aneisha cocked her head slightly to the side, her expression softening. "Really? That's too bad."

Then he hand shot out, grabbing V95's head as she practically force-fed her one of the pills, making her swallow. From her spot beside Dan, Zoe gasped and swayed on her feet as pain exploded in the side of her head. Dan grabbed her arm to steady her, and said, "Neish, be careful."

Aneisha stood as V95 sunk into unconsciousness, looking over at Dan and Zoe. She looked apologetically over at Zoe, who gave her a small smile in return.

"Zo, I am _so _sorry." Aneisha said, her brown eyes wide.

"Don't worry about it." Zoe said. "I'm okay."

"How do you feel?" Frank asked. Zoe looked at him and blinked. Then she nodded. "I'm okay. I just felt a little dizzy for a minute there."

"But apart from that, you're okay?" Tom asked.

Zoe nodded and sat down at the table. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Listen to what Dan's got to say."

Everyone turned to Dan and then he started explaining what he'd told Zoe, about rigging it so KORPS would capture her and attempt to put Mastermind in her. He told them how they'd wait until the process was nearly complete and then they'd stop it.

Just as he'd suspected, his idea wasn't very well received. No one said anything, but he could see that no one was pleased. Groaning, Dan put his head in his hands and muttered, "It's a hell of a lot better than _her _plan."

"What was Zoe's plan?" Tom asked.

"To go to an M.I.9 hospitial and stab herself." Dan said.

Aneisha rolled her eyes. "You two _do _belong together. Both plans are stupid and suicidal."

"I don't hear you coming up with anything better." Dan snapped.

"It doesn't matter whether I do or not!" Aneisha shouted. "I can't believe you'd even consider . . ."

Zoe tuned them out as Dan and Aneisha started arguing. Instead, she watched the way Dan fought with her best friend. As she watched, she had the feeling that she was only really seeing him for the first time. She noticed the almost desperate look in his eyes and the realisation was like a slap in the face. _Of course _he looked desperate. He was being faced with the very real possibility that he could lose Zoe in the process of trying to save her.

"Stop it, both of you!" Zoe shouted, standing up.

"You can't do this." Aneisha muttered, casting a glare at Dan.

"Can you two please just . . . not fight about this?" Zoe asked quietly. "Look, I know this is really hard, but V95's _my _dark side. Therefore, it's my problem. None of you have to worry about it. Let me deal with it."

"No." Dan said quietly. All heads turned to him, where he was standing, his arms crossed over his chest. "No. I'm not letting you do this alone. It's KORPS' fault that V95 even exists. Not yours."

"I trusted Steinberg." Zoe replied. "It's my fault. I'll deal with it. I'll go to an M.I.9 hospital, cut myself until I'm nearly dead and then have them fix me up. Easy."

"What if something goes wrong?" Dan asked. This time, he didn't sound angry or pissed off, he just sounded unsure and scared. Although she knew that all this terrified him, Zoe hadn't realised until that moment what the extent was, just how frightened he was and how hard he was fighting to hide it. Discreetly, she reached out and took his hand. Dan glanced over at her and then pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair.

"We'll be okay, Dan." Zoe whispered into his shoulder. Aneisha and Tom exchanged a worried glance as Aneisha tapped V95 with her foot. V95 shifted in her sleep and muttered something that sounded like Dan's name, but then she settled back down again and Aneisha convinced herself she'd misheard her.

* * *

When Zoe woke up the next morning, the back of her head was resting on the hard muscle of Dan's stomach. She didn't know how she knew it was Dan's, but she didn't really care because she could feel cold, hard stone against her back. Zoe pulled herself up into sitting position and looked around. Just as she'd guessed, Dan was lying on the floor beside her, his blonde hair messy. Zoe noticed that the room they found themselves in was white, but that wasn't all.

Across the front of the room, ran vertical steel bars. Beyond them, Zoe couldn't see much but darkness.

It was official.

They were in a cell.

Zoe closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to force away the claustrophobia that turned up whenever she was locked up. When she'd steadied her breathing, she opened her eyes and looked around, standing up. That's when she noticed the blonde girl huddled in the corner, her hair hiding her face. Slowly, Zoe moved toward her and knelt down in front of her. Slowly, the girl raised her head so that her blonde hair slipped backwards, revealing her delicate features to Zoe – high cheekbones, big blue eyes. As she stared at Zoe, the girl trembled in fear. When Zoe reached out to comfort her, she cringed away, whimpering, "You hurt me. Go away."

"Caroline. It's me. It's Zoe."

"No, it's not!" Caroline shouted.

"Caroline, look at me." Zoe said gently. Caroline just shook her head, pushing herself back into the wall and letting her hair fall into her face again. Zoe sighed, but she got up and moved over to where Dan was still sleeping. As she sat down, he groaned and rolled onto his stomach, his blue eyes opening. Because of the way he lay, he didn't see Zoe at first, but his sister, huddled terrified in the corner.

"_Care." _Dan breathed, scrambling over to his sister. Caroline looked up and sobbed with relief when she saw her twin, hugging him tightly.

"Dan, I'm so scared." Caroline sobbed, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I know, I know. It's okay. You're going to be okay." Dan told her. "Okay?"

"Okay." Caroline whispered, releasing him. Dan sat against the wall beside her and then noticed Zoe for the first time, sitting on the floor.

"Come here, Zo." Dan said quietly, ignoring Caroline's protests as Zoe crawled across the floor towards Dan. When she reached him, Dan wrapped his arm around Zoe's waist and pulled her towards him. Zoe rested her head on Dan's shoulder and took a deep breath, letting the way he smelt calm her.

Meanwhile, Caroline watched them with an astonished expression. "You – you're Zoe."

Zoe nodded. "Was the one who captured us . . . Does she look like me?"

Caroline nodded. "Yeah, but crueller. I could just see it in her eyes that she's ruthless and horrible and I just _knew _I couldn't trust her."

Zoe exchanged a glance with Dan. Somehow, she knew they were thinking the same thing – with instincts like that, Caroline would make a good M.I.9 agent.


	11. Chapter 11

Without mentioning M.I.9, KORPS or the Mastermind, Zoe explained to Caroline about V95 while Dan got up, examining the bars keeping them inside the cell. He listened intently and heard a faint buzzing coming from it. Usually that implied electricity, but this was just V95, not KORPS. _Surely_ they weren't electrified.

"Where are we?" Zoe asked.

Dan shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at her before turning back to the bars. "I don't know but it's definitely not KORPS. Look around us. Look at the walls. They're white. KORPS like dark and dull. Wherever we are, it's no KORPS base, I can tell you that much."

Dan touched one of the bars and his body was immediately thrown back, so he landed painfully on the stone floor.

"It's electrified." Caroline commented.

"No shit." Dan groaned, sitting up.

"Are you okay, Dan?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Zo." Dan replied, eyeing the bars warily. He heard footsteps and scrambled back towards the two girls as the buzzing from the bars stopped and part of the bars swung open, allowing Zoe inside.

_No, not Zoe, _Caroline reminded herself, glancing quickly at the girl sitting beside her and then back up at the girl who'd just walked in.

"What do you want with us?" Dan asked, taking Zoe's hand and squeezing gently.

V95 smiled. "You want to get rid of me and leave Zoe unharmed. So I've got Zoe here to stop that. And you're here to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

"That doesn't explain why I'm here." Caroline said boldly. Almost bored, V95 glanced over at Caroline. Then she smiled. "You're here to make sure your dear brother doesn't do anything stupid."

Dan glared up at her. "Our friends will come for us."

V95 smiled, producing a bottle of light blue liquid, causing horror to cloud Dan's features. "And this is to make sure Zoe here dies just before they reach you."

"No!" Dan shouted, getting to his feet as V95 downed the bottle. She shoved Dan into the bars, which had started buzzing again. Dan collapsed on the floor as V95 laughed and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

Caroline heard the sound of shattering glass as the door closed, so V95 must have thrown the empty bottle at the wall.

"Zoe . . ." Dan whispered, his horrified gaze meeting her scared one just before he blacked out.

* * *

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Aneisha whispered.

"I'm sure they're fine." Tom reasoned. "They're probably just pulling a sickie."

Aneisha shook her head. "They haven't gotten that far yet."

"How do you know?" Tom asked.

"Because . . . Zoe would have told me." Aneisha replied.

Tom still looked sceptical, but before he could answer her, their pencils started flashing. When they got to the broom cupboard, Aneisha's heart sank. Dan and Zoe weren't there.

Blinking tears out of her eyes, Aneisha followed Tom into the broom cupboard. He cast her a worried glance, his fingers hovering over the broom handle.

"We'll find them." Tom promised and then pulled the lever. Aneisha barely even felt the usual sensation of her heart rocketing into her throat – she was too worried about her friends. When they walked in HQ, Aneisha wasn't surprised to find V95 gone.

"They didn't work." Frank said.

"Yeah. Dan and Zoe are missing." Tom said.

"We need to – " Aneisha started, just as her phone rang. Curiously, she answered it. "Hello?"

_"Is this Aneisha?"_ A girl's voice on the other end asked.

"Who wants to know?" Aneisha asked as Tom waved his hand in front of her face and began gesturing wildly. Aneisha waved him away with a cold look as the girl told Aneisha her name.

_"Caroline. Caroline Morgan."_

"Caroline. As in Dan's sister?"

_"That's the one."_

"Caroline, are Dan and Zoe there by any chance?"

_"Yeah."_

"Are they . . . are they okay?"

"_No."_ Caroline said. _"They're far from okay. Dan's unconscious because V95 shoved him into the electrified bars of our cell and I think there must be some kind of link between Zoe and V95."_

"Why? Caroline, what happened?"

"_Because V95 drank this light blue-coloured poison and I think it's starting to affect Zoe."_ Caroline said. Aneisha's knees buckled and she had to grab the table to steady herself, or more to stop herself from falling as she struggled to comprehend what she'd been told – V95 had ingested poison. Zoe was dying.

"Where . . . Do you know where you are?"

"_No. But I can tell you our cell's white . . . kind of like it's been converted from a hospital. That's really all I can give you. I've got to go. She could be back any minute."_

Then she hung up and Aneisha dropped her phone on the table, trying to force herself not to cry.

"Neish?" Tom asked. "Neish, what's wrong?"

"V95 . . ." Aneisha said quietly. "V95, she . . . she swallowed poison."

"Neish." Tom said. "Did she tell you what colour it was?"

"Light blue . . . " Aneisha said numbly. Tom moved towards the computer and Frank eased Aneisha into a chair as she mumbled, "She faked it. The drugs never worked. She just pretended."

Tom cast her a worried glance over his shoulder at her before turning back to his computer.

"Description, Neish?" Tom asked.

"She said like it had been hospital. And there was electrified bars in their cell." Aneisha dazedly said.

* * *

It had only been a few hours, but Zoe already looked sick. She looked pale, but she was completely focused on Dan, who hadn't regained consciousness yet. Caroline could see her brother's blonde head resting in Zoe's lap and realised just how young he looked when he was asleep.

"Are you okay, Zoe?" Caroline asked.

Zoe glanced over at her and shrugged. "I feel weak, but I'm okay."

"Zoe . . ." Dan moaned, his eyes flickering open. He sat up, blue eyes glancing around quickly. When he saw Zoe, horror clouded his features as he took in her tired features. He hugged her tightly and Zoe buried her face in his neck, sobbing.

"We'll be okay, Zo." Dan breathed. "They'll find us and we'll get the antidote into you and we'll be fine."

Caroline covered her mouth with her hands and turned away to stop herself from crying. Dan was trying to reassure Zoe, but Caroline knew better. Zoe wouldn't see her friends again while she was alive without a miracle.


	12. Chapter 12

"I traced the signal from Caroline's phone." Tom said. "It's there."

Aneisha, now recovered from hearing that her best friend was dying, glanced over at the computer screen.

"It's this old M.I.9 hospital." Tom said. "About an hour's drive away from here."

"I should get a SWAT – " Frank started, before Tom cut him off.

"It's a bad idea for a SWAT team, Frank. V95's directly linked to Zoe and if one of them hurts her, it would do Zoe more harm than good. And besides, V95's poisoned herself. If Zoe's getting weaker, than she would be too." Tom reasoned, spinning his chair around to face them.

Frank sighed. "Okay. Let's go."

* * *

Dan woke to the sound of someone coughing _and _crying, somewhere behind him. Stifling a groan as he peeled himself off the cold, hard floor, Dan looked around, blinking sleep out of his eyes. Caroline was curled up on the floor, a blanket draped over her body. Immediately, Dan wondered where'd she gotten it from. The only person who could have possibly given it to her was V95, but then, it couldn't have been. V95 was every bit the kind of person he _didn't _want to be – cruel, ruthless and selfish. One thing that V95 wasn't was compassionate.

"V95 came in and gave it to her. I think the poison's messing with her head." Zoe voice said, just before she collapsed in another coughing fit. Dan turned so that he could see her, his heart sinking when he saw her. Zoe was curled up in the corner, shivering violently. Her eyes met Dan's and the expression in them was so intense, it made his own heart ache. Her green eyes were filled with so many emotions – sadness, fear, pain and most of all, love. He could _see _how much she loved him, _see _how much she _didn't _want him to see her like this. As he watched her, he could see why. Her skin was sickly shade of white and she looked slightly thinner than she had before V95 had ingested that poison.

Zoe cried out and gripped her stomach, tears running down her face again. Gasping, she sobbed, "It hurts, Dan."

He was at her side in a flash, wrapping his strong arms around her delicate body. Zoe coughed mid-sob and gripped Dan's shirt with her long fingers, resting her head against his shoulder.

"It hurts." Zoe croaked and suddenly it felt as if Dan was being torn apart from the inside out. He found it physically painful to know that she was in pain, but all that he could do was sit there and hold her. It was more painful than anything that V95 could do to him.

"I'm going to die." Zoe whimpered. "Aren't I?"

"No, you're not –" Dan started, but was cut off by Zoe raising her head and half-heartedly glaring at him.

"Don't lie to me, Dan." Zoe said quietly.

Dan's eyebrow creased and he took a deep breath before he finally said, "Yes, Zoe. I'm so sorry. Sorry that I couldn't protect you. Sorry that I –"

Zoe cut Dan off by taking his face in her hands and crushing her mouth against his. The kiss wasn't gentle in any way – it was desperate and passionate, fuelled by love and the tragedy that seemed to be unfolding around them. Zoe pulled Dan as close to her as her weakened limbs would allow and realised she could taste tears, but she didn't know whether they were Dan's or her own.

Much sooner than any of them would have liked, Zoe pulled away to get some oxygen.

"I love you." Zoe whispered hoarsely, resting her head under Dan's chin.

"I love you too, Zo." Dan whispered, only seconds away from tears. "So, so much. I hope you know that."

"I do." Zoe replied, her voice thick with tears.

Across the room, Caroline watched the two with tears in her eyes. She'd only caught the last part of their conversation, but she knew her brother well enough to know what he, as well as Zoe were doing.

They were preparing themselves to lose each other.

All three looked up when the bars stopped their insistent buzzing and V95 walked in. She didn't look much better than Zoe – she looked just as weak, just as tired. The only difference was that somehow, V95 managed to act as though it didn't bother her.

Before she could say anything, Caroline got up for her spot and seized V95, pushing her into the wall. V95 slowly turned and grabbed Caroline, who kicked and squirmed to get free. Caroline managed to get a kick into V95's knee and the red head let her go, falling to the floor unconscious as Zoe slumped against Dan.

Caroline's terrified blue eyes darted quickly between V95 and Zoe, unsure of what to do next.

"Caroline." Dan said, his voice surprisingly level as his arm wrapped around Zoe to hold her upright. "Go get help."

When Caroline didn't move, he yelled, "Go!"

Caroline glanced quickly at V95 and then back at her twin. "I'll be back, Dan."

Then she ran.

* * *

Caroline ran through the old hospital until she bumped into a girl about her height, with dark skin and big brown eyes.

"What the – Caroline?" The girl asked.

"Aneisha. Dan and Zoe are this way," Caroline replied, pointing towards the way she'd come. "Quick, we . . .. we need to hurry. Zoe's fading fast."

Aneisha and her companions, a tall man with bushy brown hair and a pale-skinned boy with dark brown eyes that kept looking at Aneisha when he thought she wasn't looking, didn't need any further convincing as the blonde girl turned and darted back the way she'd come, stumbling into the cell, where V95 was still unconscious on the floor and Zoe was still resting against Dan.

Dan looked up as they entered, his blue eyes pleading. "She's fading fast."

"V95." Caroline said. "Maybe V95 has the antidote."

"Wouldn't count on it." Dan muttered.

Nevertheless, Caroline knelt beside V95 and searched her coat, from which she produced a bottle of green liquid. She threw it to Dan, who caught it and pulled off the lid, pouring its contents down Zoe's throat. Zoe's swallow sounded horrible, but it was a swallow.

Dan waited patiently for the colour to return to her cheeks, for her to open her eyes and kiss him, for her to tell him that everything was going to be alright. Instead, he heard a scream.

Caroline watched with an odd sense of satisfaction as V95's back arched, a scream leaving her mouth as her hair turned black. Then, her arms disappeared, then her legs, then her torso and then, finally, her head, so that the only evidence that she'd ever existed at all was the memory of her.

Caroline turned back to Zoe and Dan. Dan was staring down at Zoe, with a completely shattered expression on his face. When he looked up, tears sparkled in his eyes as he said, "The poison had already spread too far. She's gone."

He buried his face in Zoe's hair and Caroline could hear her brother's heavy breathing as he tried to force himself not to cry. Aneisha started crying and Caroline hugged her, just to give herself something to concentrate on to hold back her own tears.

Tom, however, crept forward and scanned Zoe with his spy pod. A heart monitor showed up on his screen and it showed her heartbeat getting stronger, not weaker. The antidote had worked. She was alive.

"Dan." Tom said.

Dan moaned.

"Dan." Tom said again. "Dan. Dan, just –"

"WHAT?" Dan shouted, lifting his head to glare at Tom.

"Look." Tom said, turning the spy pod around so Dan could see it. Dan's expression remained angry for a split second, but then it changed as he took in what was on the screen.

"She was close to death. She drank the antidote. V95 disappeared. Zoe's heartbeat's getting stronger. Dan, she's alive. She's okay."

"She's alive?" Dan breathed, grinning. Then he held Zoe as tightly as he could, feeling like a weight had been taken his chest. Zoe was going to be okay. She was going to live.


	13. Epilogue

**Hey guys! This is the epilogue, so this is the last chapter of _Doppelganger,_ but I am going to do a sequel to this titled _Caroline, _which I'm sure many of you will be very excited about. That's all I'm teling you for now. ;)**

* * *

"Zoe!" Dan shouted, sitting up.

Aneisha and Tom raised their heads wearily and Frank walked over to Dan's bedside as the blonde looked around him, surveying his surroundings.

"She's okay –" Frank started.

"Where's Zoe?" Dan demanded. "I need to see her."

"Dan, just . . . relax." Frank said. "Zoe's fine."

"Please." Dan said softly. "Let me see her, Frank."

As Frank looked at him, he saw part of himself in the blonde. He reminded him of a younger version of himself.

Frank jerked his head in the general direction of the door. "Off you go, then, before I change my mind. Five doors down on the left."

"Thanks Frank!" Dan said, climbing off the bed and moving out the door before Tom or Aneisha could blink. He walked down the hallway, counting the doors silently as he went.

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

_Four._

"Five." Dan whispered, pushing it open and peering inside. He could see Zoe sitting in the bed, silently reading a book. A smile tugging at his mouth, Dan leaned against the doorframe, studying the way her hair settled on her shoulders and framed her face, the way her long, elegant fingers held the book, the way her eyes thoroughly read each word.

"Ah, so you'd rather read a book than come see me, would you?" Dan said.

Zoe looked up, her eyes lighting up and a smile dancing across her mouth as she breathed his name. Still smiling, she put the book aside and watched as he moved to sit on the bed at her bedside. Dan reached out and took her hand, the feel of her skin against his own instantly calming him.

"Are you okay?" Dan asked, his blue eyes watching her carefully.

Zoe nodded. "I'm fine. There wasn't enough antidote in that bottle that V95 had to completely heal me – but it was enough to keep me alive until the doctors could get more into me."

"And did they? Get you more?"

Zoe nodded, her eyes flickered to her wrist, where her IV drip was stuck into her flesh. Dan immediately had the irrational urge to pull it out, but he stopped himself, remembering that Zoe was out of harms way.

"At first they put a little in my drip, so that it went straight into my bloodstream." Zoe said. "Now I'm perfectly fine so they don't."

Dan nodded, his focus on their intertwined hands. Zoe brushed her thumb over the back of his hand and said his name softly, causing him to look up.

"Are you okay?" Zoe asked gently, her green eyes searching his blue ones.

"I almost lost you, Zo." Dan whimpered, ducking his head so she couldn't see his tears. Zoe shuffled closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Dan rested his head against her shoulder as his body shook with his sobs, his arms holding her to him. Zoe didn't say anything; she just let Dan hold her, knowing full well that that was what he needed – to feel her against him, living, breathing. She hadn't regained consciousness after V95 disintegrated – when she'd woken up, she'd been in this very hospital bed, with what seemed like a thousand different things poking out of her.

When Dan lifted his head, he rested his forehead against Zoe's and opened his eyes. Zoe rested her hand on his cheek, her eyes meeting his, which was sparkling with tears.

"Hey." Zoe said gently, smiling up at him. "I love you. She's gone and we all survived. We're okay."

"I love you." Dan said, grabbing her face and kissing her deeply and passionately. Zoe wrapped her arms around his neck, but they reluctantly separated when they heard the door open. Sighing, Dan twisted in his seat, his eyes widening when he saw Caroline.

"Care?" Dan asked. "Are you okay?"

Caroline grinned. "I'm fine. I'm not the one who slept for a week. I just wanted to see how you were. And now that I have, bye! Clearly I was interrupting _something_."

"Care – " Dan started, but she was already gone. Dan turned back to Zoe, who looked thoughtful.

"You okay?" Dan asked.

Zoe nodded and slowly raised her eyes to his. "She loved you, Dan."

Dan shook his head. "She can't've, Zo. She was selfish. She only _loved herself._"

"No, she did love you." Zoe insisted. "In her own sick and twisted way, she did. That's why she was obsessed with you."

"So what you're saying is that every single version of you, no matter how evil or twisted or _whatever, _is always going to love me?" Dan asked.

Zoe shrugged and smiled, her green eyes twinkling with mischief. "Pretty much."

Dan leaned forward, so that his nose brushed against Zoe's and his eyes were staring directly into hers. When he spoke, he found that they were so close together, his lips brushed against Zoe's. "I can deal with that."

Zoe grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her mouth against his.


End file.
